-HEALTH. Commingling. Health Issues! Practical Implications. Our Growing Pig Opportunities. Growing Pig Opportunities.

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1 Walking Pens to Insure Individual Pig Care R.B. Baker, DVM Class of students 25 Predominately Food Animal Interest 36 Mixed Animal Interest Holtkamp Baker McKean Karriker Ramirez Harris Swine Production Medicine Team VDPAM Schwartz How do we Ensure Individual Finishing Pig Care?? FSVS Swine Production Medicine 161 years Swine Veterinary Experience 2 Professors, 2 Assistant Professors, 1 Adjunct Assistant Professor, 1 Senior Clinician, 1 Clinician 7 DVM, 4 MS, 2 DACVPM, 1 PhD, 1 MPH, 1 JD 3.21 Service, 1.63 Research, 1.58 Teaching Full Time Equivalents CVM What is important to the bottom line? Placement Health Stocking Density Disease Prevention Immunity management Disease Intervention treatment Barn Management Feed composition Genetics Stockmanship/husbandry 1

2 Our Growing Pig Opportunities 1. Keep pigs alive 2. Keep pigs on feed 3. Eliminate energy wasters: - Heat & cold responses - Immune stimulation Growing Pig Opportunities - Keep pigs alive - Keep pigs on feed - Eliminate energy wasters: - Heat cold responses - Immune stimulation Health Issues! -HEALTH - Mortality Spiral Further deterioration of health - genetics Poor health ~ throughput Short term fixes to throughput Practical Implications Commingling - Margins are narrowing feed/market - Most cost opportunities have already been taken in well run systems - Reducing fixed costs is an opportunity that remains throughput issues - If throughput decreases, fixed costs per pig increase 2

3 Health Issues Stocking Healthy Not always easy Pig quality uniformity placement AIAO and Barn Preparation Keeping Healthy Vaccine Biosecurity Strategic Antimicrobial intervention Other Facility interventions What is a Healthy Pig? Disease free? - usually not Immunity to immediate challenges? A pig that faces low disease exposure One that hasn t been commingled One that avoids PRRSv exposure until mid-late finishing One that avoids PCVAD Effective use of Preventative Vaccines Vaccines that are specific to expected exposure The devil you know is usually better than the one you haven t met Vaccines that are cost effective Vaccine timing is critical Proper administration Proper vaccine handling Cost Effective Vaccines Vaccines can only be cost effective if they: Effectively reduce mortality & morbidity Are managed properly Specific for economically important agents present in the pigs Have timing opportunity Are broadly/cross strain protective Vaccines That are often Cost Effective Mycoplasma pneumonia Ileitis PCV2 - Circovirus Erysipelas Flu Haemophilus pneumonia PRRS Vaccines that often aren't Effective PRRS Flu Haemophilus Erysipelas Most vaccines if improperly applied, aren t needed, or lack cross protection to current challenge strains If the challenge is great vaccines alone are never enough 3

4 Walking the Barns: How do we effectively intervene? Prevention is the best medicine An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure Thermo-neutral temperatures Air quality Stocking alignment Barn Preparation Walking the Barns: How do we effectively intervene? Starting pigs good, bad and usually ugly Early recognition and treatment of individual pigs Right antimicrobial Right delivery method Usually avoids moving to hospital pen Proper feeder adjustment Water flow rate and adjustment Barn temperatures W/F vs. Finisher vs. pig size Comfort zones How to Pick out the Right PIG For Treatment Is the pig sick or just abnormal? Is this a barn or disease effect? Right pig for treatment? Right pig for moving out to Hospital pens? Should I intervene or wait? What are the treatment Choices? Abnormal Postures Picking the Right Pig Normal Sternal or lateral recumbency Abnormal Dog sitting Pneumonia, pleuritis, salt poisoning Head extended Respiratory distress Arched back Pain, lameness, polyserositis Favor limb Head tilt Sternal pigs that show other signs Is the pig sick or just abnormal? Sick pigs often have elevated rectal temperatures The Thermometer is a still a good tool Early treatment in the correct pig avoids late mortality/culls Newer long acting antimicrobials Avoids hospital pen movement Normal Rectal Temperature Ranges: Nursery Pig: o F Finishing Pig: o F 4

5 General behavior Normal: curious, avoid confrontation Will squeal when restrained or in pain Hyperkinetic: Goose Step nutritional deficiencies, genetics, CNS disease Listless/lethargic/slow Systemic illness Drooping ears Reluctant or fail to move when menaced Physical Observations Body condition/thriftiness Normal Growing pigs: Bloom : muscle/fat cover skeleton, full belly Unthrifty Skeleton exposed Hair coat often longer and more dense (dehydration and malnutrition/wasting) Off-feed Empty belly: slab sided hours after quit eating Skin/Eyes Skin Hair coat: length and density Rough/patchy: mange mites Lice Rub marks: poor access to feeders & waterers Eyes Red and puffy E.coli or insects Tearing plugged lacrimal ducts Ammonia or other irritants Bacterial or viral eye infection 5

6 Ears/Nose/Tails Ears: Hematomas, cannibalism, necrosis Nose Deviation: lateral/dorsal from atrophic rhinitis Swellings: Bull nose, improper teeth clipping Discharges: Blood with AR, mucus/pus with inclusion body rhinitis Tail Too short (prone to prolapse), too long (promotes tail biting?) Cannibalism GI system Normal stool Young pigs: well formed, green color Older pigs: formed but softer, green to yellow Abnormal stool Form: Loose = diarrhea, Hard = constipation Color: red = lower bowel hemorrhage, black = upper bowel hemorrhage, white = malabsorption, orange-red = PPE, PCV2? Other: odor (foul with TGE), mucus (S. hyo.) Other: prolapse, vomit (TGE, E.coli) Respiratory System Normal: difficult to observe Abnormal: Rate > breaths per minute Thumps pronounced/abdominal/labored pattern suggests pneumonia heart failure Rapid breathing - no labored pattern = hot pig Not always pneumonia: polyserositis Cough: suggests air way disease/lesions Yes: M. hyo., influenza? No: PRRSV, App Coughing blood = App 6

7 Musculoskeletal System Lameness: favor one limb, alter posture if multiple limbs involved Foot lesions: bruises, cracks, overgrown Splay leg: usually rear legs Arthritis: most common in young pigs, navel ill OCD signs: Single rear leg lameness due to fracture of femoral cap and joint mice in stifle or knee joint Pain: grind teeth, squeal when moved Central Nervous Signs Most diseases cause irritative response Typically infections Convulsions Hyperextension Rigidity Head tilt Circling Extension of head in ratcheting pattern with water deprivation Physical Evaluation Summary Pigs are not always easy to examine up close Carefully observe from a distance Many clinical signs not specific to a certain disease Be aware of environment including feed and water availability Need to develop a feel for group health Post-mortems and lab confirmation must be done to reach a specific diagnosis Identification and Treatment 7

8 How to evaluate a STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! ROOM /BARN of pigs EVALUATE : Environment Pig Comfort Feed Delivery Water Supply Use a systematic approach! Do it the same way every time! EVALUATE : Pig Comfort Pig Health Waterer position / flow Feeder adjustment Environment: Are the pigs comfortable? Are they cold (piling)? Are they hot? Are there drafts present? Think about the environment from the pig level, not yours! Water supply: Are the nipples at the proper height (top of the shoulders)? Water Flow Is the water flow appropriate? pints / minute (nursery) quarts / minute (finishing) 8

9 Measuring water flow rates: Nursery: pints / minute (25-40 seconds to fill a pint container) Nipple Height Finishing: quarts / minute (finishing) (20-30 seconds to fill a pint container) Feed supply: Feeder Adjustment Are the augers operating correctly? Are the feeders adjusted properly? Is the feed in the feeder trough free of mold and manure? Good Wet Feed Excess Feed Primary Farm Diagnostic Tool Acknowledgements Locke Karriker Alex Ramirez 9

10 Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) Atrophic Rhinitis Gastric Ulcers 10